Conventionally widely known are image processing apparatuses that separate only gloss components from input image data to highlight the gloss components. Specifically, there has been developed a technology for separating diffuse reflection components and gloss components in a pixel to be a target by: using hues of an object in an image to extract the pixel; estimating diffuse reflection components indicating original color components of the surface from the pixel thus extracted; and using the diffuse reflection components thus estimated to separate colors that are changed by illumination.
To extract diffuse reflection components from image data, high processing capacity is required. As a result, hardware providing higher performance is required, thereby making a processor expensive.
In view of the circumstances described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus capable of separating diffuse reflection components and gloss components constituting image data efficiently.